Fiji's deposed prime minister,
Mahendra Chaudhry, is a smaller, physically weaker man than
he was eight weeks ago. If the way he grimaces between
sentences is a guide, he is also in considerable
pain.

Chaudhry's ribs were cracked during a beating at the
hands of supporters of coup leader George Speight, suffered
the day after he was taken hostage. He is physically weak
because, for the best part of eight weeks, he received just
one meal a day.

And yet, at a small meeting with
journalists in Sydney yesterday, Chaudhry allows himself a
smile when reminded that Speight is now sleeping on the bare
mattress that Chaudhry had been forced to occupy.

Asked to
describe his treatment at the hands of Speight's supporters
during the eight-week hostage drama, Chaudhry says: "We were
treated as hostages. We were intimidated. I was beaten up,
once. I was threatened a number of times. I had racist
remarks flung at me. We went through a lot in that
time.

"There were some quite anxious moments, especially
with the shooting outside. At those times, we all feared for
our lives because it had been made clear by the rebels that
if they were attacked, they would use us as human
shields."

Asked if he was therefore pleased to see Speight
(who was arrested by the military last week) now getting a
"little of the same" Chaudhry says: "I have never been a
vindictive person. I certainly didn't like what he did to
me. But yes, he's getting a bit of his own medicine back
right now. I'll leave it at that."

While detained,
Chaudhry met Speight twice. He, like many international
observers, regards him as dangerously unstable.

"He seemed
to be a very, very confused man," Chaudhry says. "He seemed
quite unstable. He hadn't worked out anything. He had a lot
of theories but no practical details about anything. He
seemed completely a man in a world of his own."

He says
Speight could be believed when he says he was motivated by
racism.

"He came out of the blue. He hadn't featured in
the political life of the country and suddenly he was there.
Nobody expected him to launch a coup, but in my two
meetings, he was very forthright. He believes that the
government of Fiji should be based on the supremacy of
ethnic Fijians."

While refusing to express outrage at the
way he, personally, was treated by the coup leaders,
Chaudhry says he is angry about the pain that Fijians of
Indian origin suffered when Speight's forces seized power,
adding that the extent of the violence was "quite
unnecessary, quite unbelievable".

"We were completely in
the dark for eight weeks, we had no access to newspapers, we
had no idea what was happening outside and it was only when
we came out that we came to terms with what had actually
happened," Chaudhry says.

"There was lawlessness,
basically. In Suva, shops were burnt, looted. In the rural
communities, there was violence, people were assaulted, they
were robbed, their homes were set alight. People acted with
impunity because it was not until later that the military
decided that they should do something. Of course, the
military was somewhat constrained because we were held
captive and they feared for our safety. Once we were
released, they decided to do more."

Asked if the military
might have taken action earlier, Chaudhry says he concurs
with a "body of opinion" that suggests that "if they had
moved swiftly on the day of the coup, things might have been
different. They were not seen for a number of days, which
allowed Speight and his supporters to consolidate their
position."

Chaudhry says he feels sure that the coup has
devastated the Fijian economy, and that this will take
decades to rectify. He expects tourists to stay away because
their safety cannot be guaranteed.

"It took us a long time
to rebuild the economy after (the earlier coup in) 1987, and
in 1999, we inherited an economy with two successive years
of negative growth, widespread poverty, deteriorating
infrastructure. Our health services were in bad shape. These
were the issues on which we campaigned and what we did in
the 12 months was exactly in our manifesto.

"Our priority
was the poverty issues, because there was widespread
poverty. We moved quickly to reduce the cost of basic food
items, reduce the interest rates on loans for the poor, and
bought about measures to make the cost of education lower,
and in the process, we managed the economy prudently.

"By
the end of 1999, we had economic growth of around 7 per cent
and it was anticipated that this year's growth would be
around 5 per cent. We had great prospects, but all that is
now completely shattered and I don't know when it will come
right. Not for a long, long time. In a country where you
have three coups in 13 years, the international community
and the business community loses faith. There are a lot of
other places where people can invest."

Of Fiji's political
future, Chaudhry says democracy is "the best thing for Fiji,
as it is for any country". He is encouraged by the support
of the international community, but still believes that a
United Nations-sponsored referendum is the best way to find
out what Fijians want. At the same time, he concedes that
violence would almost certainly accompany the vote. Such
action has been ruled out on the grounds that it would
create more instability.

If democracy is not restored,
Chaudhry fears an exodus of Fijians of Indian background, a
situation that depresses him, but which he nonetheless
accepts and understands.

"People of Indian origin are
feeling very insecure," he says. "We were a multiracial
government and I would like to pin my hopes on our return
but if this does not happen, then, yes, something like
300,000 people are talking about leaving. I don't blame them
for having those feelings, seeing what they had gone
through. If you have a group of thugs come up to your house,
rob you, and set your house alight, what do you expect? It
will be very difficult for me to convince them to stay if
they have experienced this kind of ethnic cleansing. That is
the nature of any human being. You and I would do the
same."

Despite fearing for his own safety, Chaudhry says
he will continue to campaign to be recognised as the
legitimate prime minister of Fiji.

"We cannot just close
shop and leave it to the new regime," he says. He and his
supporters will continue to maintain their opposition to the
new government from the west of Fiji, where there is more
stability. Conversely, there has also been more damage, for
it is the west that has wealth: the gold is there, as is the
timber, sugar and most of the tourism.

"Of course, if we
continue with our campaign to be recognised as the
legitimate government of Fiji, we have been warned that
we'll be dealt with in accordance with law, but we have to
continue the struggle," Chaudhry says.

"We risk our own
safety, our lives because, this time around, there are a lot
of guns out there. Nobody is sure that all the guns that
went missing have been returned. That adds a new dimension
to the situation."

He feels confident of support from the
west, "where the economic devastation means that jobs have
been lost in the thousands". His supporters have, however,
ruled out an offshore, "government in exile" until it has
been proven that they are completely unable to operate in
Fiji.

He is confident that the deposed government retains
popular support, "and that's why I've suggested a
UN-supervised referendum".

Of the international community,
Chaudhry says he is satisfied for the "time being" by the
actions being taken, but hopes tougher measures will be
implemented if "the new regime decides to be stubborn, and
the situation did not improve".

He is likewise satisfied
with the stand taken by Australia, but anxious that
so-called "smart sanctions" not be the end of the
matter.

"Maybe in the future, more could be done, if the
situation does not improve," he says.

Chaudhry says the
Australian Prime Minister John Howard seems to be waiting to
see whether Fiji's new Review Commission, which will oversee
the construction of a new constitution, was "independent and
transparent, and all that stuff".

"But I have pointed out,
how many times are we going to have a review of the
constitution? Every time somebody loses an election, we end
up having an armed takeover of government, and a review
process. It is not a very satisfactory way of dealing with
the situation."

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Nius: niusedita@pactok.net.au
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